IranPartner’s Clients: Who They Are & How We Serve Them

We have started IranPartner with a vision of bridging the ever-increasing gap between the Iranian business environment and the global economy. Where lack of international interactions had created a sense of distrust both at home and abroad, we made our endeavor to instill trust in both sides by providing world-class services. To devise and implement effective solutions, we have put together a team of young talents with experienced veterans and set out to learn and solve our clients’ deepest concerns for their business in Iran.

Understanding Our Clients

Over the years, we have interacted with companies and businesspeople from all around the globe. We held conversations with thousands of businesses and made tens of thousands of email correspondents to learn about our clients’ needs and develop solutions to their problems. Building on our growing experience, we developed services that focus on assisting clients within four main categories:

SMEs

Corporations

Trade Promotion Agencies

Consulting Firms

Small and Medium Size Enterprises (SMEs)

Tapping into new markets is a difficult task for small to medium-sized companies, primarily because of their limited resources. However, with the increasing competition at home, many of these companies rightfully feel compelled to tap into new markets. These new markets can potentially multiply their revenue and give these companies an edge in the competition. However, the costs associated with foreign expansion mean SMEs cannot afford the costs of failed initiatives.

To mitigate the risks and increase chances of initiating a successful business with Iran, we help SMEs by assessing their market in Iran and evaluating their potentials in the market. We advise these companies whether and how to approach their business in Iran by a careful examination of their product portfolio.

If the results of our analysis prove a promising outlook, we identify and contact reputable Iranian companies in the client’s industry on behalf of the client and introduce their products/services. We arrange face to face meetings with such interested parties and accompany the client during their travel to Iran. Such meetings have proved to be the ultimate method of creating the rapport needed for successful business with Iran.

Corporations

Large corporations with offices across multiple countries, listed companies with thousands of investors, and conglomerates overseeing a portfolio of businesses in a broad range of industries are continuously looking for new opportunities. For these enterprises, Iran is a market they cannot overlook. The largest population of the region, the most diversified economy, and a market with huge unmet demand puts Iran on top of their new markets lists.

These corporations, obligated to meet the requirements of multiple stakeholders, feature complicated processes and cautious approach towards making commitments in a new market. Specifically, the threat of US sanctions is a key consideration for corporations and conducting a thorough compliance check is a must-do for them.

Moreover, as the major global banks are still afraid of transferring money to and from Iran, making sure the banks are willing to work with Iran is a step to undertake in the initial assessments.

For large corporations, it is often the case that they must send their engineers or managers to oversee projects or to mobilize the company’s business in the first year of operation. These companies are worried about the visa and work permit arrangements for their staff.

Having worked with these big enterprises, we know that expertise alone is not enough for fruitful cooperation. The successful implementation of a market entry strategy requires high levels of interactions between our team and the client’s business development team.

Overcoming the communication barrier, in such a multi-cultural context, has proven to be the single most important factor to maintain management buy-in and to help solve the inevitable complications that arise through the project. Preparing insightful reports, conveying powerful presentations, and constant email communications are the skills we developed to facilitate our clients’ market entry.

Trade Promotion Organizations (TPOs)

These governmental, non-profit organizations that operate on a state budget and are held accountable to introduce their country’s business globally and to help with their domestic companies’ expansion into new markets constitute a critical profile of our clients.

They are often involved with multiple projects, across many countries and industries. Being a governmental agency, they suffer from limited resources that almost never meet the high demand they are facing. So, they have to outsource as much of their work as possible smartly. Thus, finding reliable local partners in their target countries plays a significant role in their success.

We have partnered with such organizations around the world and collaborated through paid services and free information exchange arrangements. Our services are in great harmony with the needs of TPOs, and that opens multiple cooperation areas.

Consulting Firms

The international sanctions had disconnected Iran from the global economy for many years. In isolation, the country created its unique dynamics which is unfamiliar to what the foreigners are used to encounter in other markets. Such companies rely on international consulting firms to assist them with the regulatory and tax assistance, with helping them craft entry strategy for their business in Iran, and with the implementation of their activities in Iran.

However, Iran’s isolation kept the consulting firms on the sidelines for the past decade. So, before being able to assist their clients, they need to first learn about the specificities of the Iranian business and regulatory environments.

As a consulting company with our team located in Tehran, we have been working with both the Iranian companies and foreign ones, solving their pain points and learning their major obstacles along the way.

Also, we recognize our limited resources. So, we serve some of our clients that need services beyond our expertise through joint projects with these multinational consulting firms. Their experience outside Iran combined with our knowledge of the country create comprehensive solutions for corporations that are willing to roll out their operation in Iran.

How We Add Value

The majority of the foreign companies and their management have little information about Iran, when they first visit the country or when they start interacting with local businesses. Being an Eastern culture, Iranians put great value on interpersonal relationships and a lack of understanding or appreciation of the local culture and the way business is done in Iran will jeopardize and otherwise potentially profitable partnership. In the meanwhile, technical understanding of the regulations, taxations, and administrative processes plays a critical role in the success of a foreign business in Iran.

To serve the needs of such diverse clients as we have, we have decided to redesign our website and our digital approach. We started publishing informative blog posts and reports discussing business, cultural, and regulatory issues that you are going to face when you start doing business in Iran.

Although producing such original content will be demanding on our resources, we believe increasing the awareness of our clients through quality content will result in stronger, more profitable relationships in the long run.

If you have any suggestions or opinions, we will appreciate your leaving a comment below.